11:57 am, July 4, 2024
The UK’s new LCV market dropped by 4.5% to 33,066 units last month versus June 2023, the SMMT said this morning.
It ended a record-equalling 17-month growth run, with the previous one spanning February 2010 to June 2011.
But the industry body said the sector had stayed robust during the first six months of 2024 – up by 4.5% year on year to 177,620 new vans, pick-ups and 4x4s, which it said was the best performance since 2021 when the figure stood at 191,513.
And it highlighted the fact that June’s decline had been partly artificially inflated versus 2023, which had seen the best June performance for four years as the industry met pent-up demand in the wake of Covid.
Deliveries of battery-electric vans (BEVs) fell for a third month this year – down by 16.8% on June 2023 to 1,476 units from 1,775.
As a result, BEVs have accounted for just 4.7% of all new light van registrations during the year to date versus 5.2% for the same period last year.
‘With manufacturers mandated to ensure zero-emission vehicles comprise a minimum of 10% of their new van registrations this year, market share heading in the opposite direction is a cause for concern,’ said the SMMT.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘The best first half of a year since 2021 is great news for a market so intrinsic to economic growth, but this optimism will only continue if action is taken to re-energise zero-emission van demand.
‘A new government provides an opportunity to bolster the market with a strategy to grow the UK’s van-specific charging network at pace and maintain essential fiscal incentives to keep this vital market on track, without which our net zero ambitions will be at risk.’
The top-selling LCV last month was the Ford Transit Custom at 4,954 units, followed by the Ford Transit (2,730) and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (1,911).
The rest of the top 10 comprised the Renault Trafic (1,888), Peugeot Partner (1,703 – pictured), Ford Ranger (1,686), Vauxhall Combo (1,580), Vauxhall Vivaro (1,450), Volkswagen Transporter (1,274) and Ford Transit Connect (1,116).
